March 29, 2014, Burnley, Turf Moor.
This was a Regional Championship match, a battle for the top spot.
Beep!
A fierce tackle by Burnley brought Ricardinho down to the ground.
Ricardinho lay on the turf, his mouth slightly open, his eyes vacant and even somewhat astonished, his gaze following the light up to the stadium floodlights.
Because right now, he was completely panicking.
Three days ago, he had inexplicably transmigrated into a parallel timeline, entering the body of a person who shared his name.
Ricardinho, a 20-year-old Brazilian player with a European heritage, had been scouted during university and was currently a member of the Leicester City U21 League team.
This world was exactly the same as the one he had come from; even the time was synchronized.
Leicester City, a team that had long been mixed up in the Regional Championship, was still somewhat unfamiliar to him, as they were not a traditional Premier League powerhouse.
Because the first-team starting striker Vardy was injured, and other players in the forward line were also facing injuries or suspensions, head coach Pearson had no choice but to promote Ricardinho, the starting striker for the U21 League team, to the first team.
Before this match, the visiting team Leicester City was ranked first with 83 points, leading second-place Burnley by four points.
It was no exaggeration to say that this match would determine the trajectory of the Regional Championship title this season.
As soon as the match began, the home team Burnley adopted high-pressure pressing, creating a strong momentum on their home ground.
The fierce defense caused Vardy's old injury to flare up, and he was unable to continue in the 34th minute, being substituted off for Ricardinho.
Immediately upon entering the pitch, Ricardinho was fiercely tackled by Burnley defender Shakle and swept to the ground.
In the three days since his arrival, he had adapted to the sudden surge in physical fitness and football skills.
However, match rhythm and awareness were accumulated through years of training and experience, and could not be fully adapted to so simply.
During training with the first team, Ricardinho found it difficult to keep up with his teammates' pace.
This was also why he appeared somewhat bewildered after coming onto the field.
Ricardinho, having been brought down, also experienced the terrifying intensity of Regional Championship physical confrontation for the first time.
"Stop faking it, get up quickly."
Shakle, who had committed the foul, bent down and roared at him, only to be violently pushed away by the quickly arriving Leicester City players, and the two sides immediately began shoving each other.
In a battle for the top spot, even the slightest action by either player could lead to a fierce argument.
As a burst of bright light stung his eyes, Ricardinho subconsciously squeezed them shut and turned his head to the side. The Team Doctor, seeing his reaction, asked him, "Rico, can you hear me?"
Ricardinho nodded, straightened up, and sat on the turf, pondering how he should cope with a match intensity and rhythm that were completely out of his League.
Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice appeared in his mind.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host, for participating in your first professional League match. The System has been successfully activated, your body perfectly matches the match rhythm, the attribute display panel has been unlocked, and a random skill draw has been performed."
Finally receiving the long-awaited System, Ricardinho immediately opened the skill package without hesitation.
"Ding-dong!"
"Congratulations, Host, you have acquired the skill: Precise Touch. Increases ball control and dribbling ability."
"Congratulations, Host, you have acquired a highlight moment card."
Before Ricardinho could open the attribute panel, he was pulled up from behind by the captain, Morgan.
The Jamaican strongman patted his backside forcefully and said gruffly, "Kid, cheer up. Don't look so listless; it just makes people want to bully you."
In his view, it was inevitable that 20-year-old Ricardinho would be nervous, participating in his first Regional Championship League match, especially one of such importance.
The second team was the second team; his body was still unable to adapt to the rhythm and confrontation of the Regional Championship, and he was replacing the team's main striker, Vardy.
This was like asking the impossible.
The other two players in the forward line were Nugent, a striker who had played in both the Premier League and the Regional Championship, and the young player Mahrez, who had been promoted to the first team two months before him.
However, Mahrez's performance in matches was much stronger than his. After only participating in one Regional Championship match, he never returned to the second team.
head coach Pearson sighed deeply; promoting Ricardinho was also done in the hope that they could continue their perfect coordination from the U21 League team into the first team.
But judging from internal training, Ricardinho did not seem to have adapted to the first-team rhythm yet.
Alas, who could he blame when his available forwards were either injured or suspended? If he had even one usable striker, why would he need to look to the second team?
Now, he was in a difficult situation with no easy way out.
Leicester City won a set-piece opportunity, and Mahrez stepped up to take it.
Before this, although Leicester City had earned several corner kicks and set-piece opportunities, they had been unable to find a chance due to the tight marking by the opposing center back.
Both Ricardinho and Nugent were 180 cm tall, but so far in the match, Leicester City had not managed a single decent header on goal.
Sure enough, Mahrez's resulting set piece curled past the heads of the players near the post, only to be headed clear by Burnley defender Shakle at the far post, defusing the danger.
Shakle, who stood 193 cm tall, looked back and saw Ricardinho behind him. He gestured with his hand across his chest, his expression full of mockery, as if saying to Ricardinho, "Hey, shorty, so you're over here."
A kid who played in the U21 League, whose body felt like paper after just a light bump, how could he establish himself in the highly physical English League?
After Shakle cleared the ball, it landed in front of Burnley's midfield core, Ross Wallace.
Facing the pressing Leicester City player, the moment he controlled the ball, he lightly guided it with the top of his right foot, sending it straight through his opponent's legs.
Burnley's attacking players saw this and knew a counterattack opportunity had arrived, sprinting forward simultaneously, and the eyes of the home fans instantly burst with excitement.
The Leicester City players were caught off guard. They had been the attacking side, but in an instant, their opponents had seized a counterattacking opportunity, forcing them to sprint back desperately to defend.
Furthermore, during the recent set-piece attack, Leicester City had only left two center back players to defend, and the fullbacks had also pushed past the halfway line, leaving the defense extremely exposed.
After cleverly shaking off the midfield defense, the Burnley player took the ball and passed it forward.
The long-silent home fans were instantly ignited by this sharp counterattack, rising to their feet one after another.
Amidst the fans' roaring cheers, Burnley striker Ashley Barnes received the pass and drove straight forward with the ball, while his teammates spread out on the left and right flanks to draw defenders away.
Leicester City was outnumbered, which tested the chemistry and cooperative defensive abilities of their two center back players.
Captain Morgan pointed his right hand, signaling to his teammate Wasilewski to mark the attacking player on the right, while he himself retreated and tracked the player dribbling through the center, leaving the attacking player on the left free while moving inward.
Ashley Barnes knew he couldn't shake off the defense of this iron-willed captain, so to prevent the team's momentum from slowing down, he quickly passed the ball to Kightly on the left flank.
Morgan had anticipated that the opponent would pass to the left flank, so he immediately turned to defend the left side, simultaneously tucking inward. He allowed his teammates to cover the space behind him.
He did not intend to press forward immediately, but instead focused on delaying the opponent's attack speed while retreating, buying time for his teammates to track back.
But the opponents were not fools. Seeing this situation, they immediately launched a long pass to the far post, finding the winger Stanislas who had surged up the right flank.
Leicester City center back Wasilewski saw the situation and rushed to cover. Stanislas at the far post controlled the ball and immediately knocked it back across the center. Ashley Barnes, following up in the middle, took advantage of Morgan's delayed defense to unleash a powerful shot, giving the goalkeeper no chance to react.
1:0!!
Burnley took the lead at home, and the pressure was now on Leicester City.
The corner of Leicester City's head coach's mouth twitched slightly. In this sharp counterattack, the speed of Burnley's three forwards' advance and single-touch passing was extremely fast, leaving his own defenders exhausted and unable to defend effectively.
Trailing their opponents, with their main striker injured, the most crucial fact was that this was only the 38th minute of the first half.
The rest of the match would be tough.
Taking advantage of the opponents celebrating their goal, Ricardinho checked his attribute panel.
Ricardinho, 20 years old, Preferred Foot: Right.
ATTACK
Crossing: 55
Finishing: 61
Heading: 62
Short Passing: 58
Volleys: 59
SKILL
Dribbling: 80
Ball Control: 80
Curve: 55
Free Kick: 50
Long Passing: 48
MOVEMENT
Acceleration: 70
Sprint Speed: 70
Agility: 76
Reactions: 62
Balance: 65
POWER
Shot Power: 63
Jumping: 60
Stamina: 63
Strength: 58
Long Shots: 57
MENTALITY
Aggression: 60
Interceptions: 27
Positioning: 60
Vision: 60
Penalties: 63
DEFENSE
Marking: 20
Standing Tackle: 25
Sliding Tackle: 27
SKILLS
Precise Touch: Improves the player's handling technique when touching the ball once.
highlight moment card
Look Back at the Moon: For passes that land behind the player, it allows for a backward-facing header to cross or shoot.
Overall Rating: 61
Ricardinho quickly scanned the panel. According to the System prompt, 60 points was the passing grade, an important watershed separating youth training from professional status.
If it weren't for the System-enhanced Ball Control and Dribbling, his scores would have been below the passing mark.
The highlight moment card was an actively used skill and had a cooldown period.
The whistle signaling the resumption of the match blew, interrupting Ricardinho's thoughts.
Nugent lightly tapped the ball, Ricardinho passed it back, and then both players simultaneously ran to the edge of the penalty area, where they looked at each other in confusion.
Nugent, looking impatient, pointed forward, indicating to Ricardinho that that was his area of operation.
Ricardinho, however, indicated that Nugent should be playing the center forward position.
The head coach on the sidelines was bewildered. What was this? If both forwards retreated, who would stay in the box?
"Rico, what the hell are you doing? You are the striker! Quickly give that position to Nugent."
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